My daughter needed to make a homemade card for her teacher so we did this one, lots of work but it stands out among the rest, no special materials.

This is a simulation video showing how the Mars Rover landed (bounced down in big balloons), it is cinema quality with music from Star Trek, etc. You then watch how it unfolds on the planet and does experiments, almost seems real.

Nice for Christmas, my daughter and I watched this film this morning, it's about a little boy who builds a snowman that comes alive, very gentle, nice animation and a nice theme song. Almost zero talking so great for non-English audiences, too.

This game is very meditative, just drag the states to the right location as they pop up, and you will keep playing to try to get 100%, fun, simple, educational.

This is an eye opening video as to what humans can build today: a robot which can walk over piles of rocks, through mud and snow, and even when scientists attempt to kick it over, it regains its balance and keeps on walking, amazing, you have to watch it and wonder.

This is a video from a freestyle dressage horse competition, the horse is amazing as it jumps and dances to the beats, an inspiring video if you and your kids like horses.

This page gives you templates to print (on harder paper) so that you construct interesting shapes.

Interesting 5-minute site that allows you to deflect little balls that are falling downward. You can move the deflectors as well as position little "magnet balls" which attract the dots. Fun and medatative.

Move little dots around with your mouse, interesting effect, fun to watch.

Install Linux on an old computer, most of them have hundreds of creative screensavers, some impressive 3D rendinger to watch, etc. My daughter and I spent over an hour looking at these once, gets you thinking about patterns, math, algorithms, etc.

Set up a number of things that kids have to do (walk on stilts, throw a ball and knock cans over, etc.), for each thing they do they can a token (print out money), then with this they get to buy things.

We have a tradition in our home that when the kids bang their knees, scrape themselves and start crying (which can be a daily event) then the get a coolpack from the refrigerator to put on it. It is a great way to deescalate the crisis, makes them feel special, and gives the other child a way to help (goes runs to get a coolpack). Plus the coolness on a fresh scrape feels great! Have one coolpack cooling in your refrigerator for each child since accidents/collisions often happen in pairs.

I did these with our kids on vacation once, you have to condense a story into 8 scenes then draw them and write words, creative way to hold onto memories.

A nice variant to reading at night is to turn off the lights and read with a flashlight. Before reading the words on each page you can silently spotlight all the pictures, nice special effect. Also kids get to "read along" better since you have to move the flashlight along the words as you read them.

I got this from a colleague at work: he said he used to make up crime stories for his daughter that involved people in the family, neighbors, etc. to make it more exciting, e.g. that one of these stuffed santa's hanging from the balcony is really a burgler who hangs there until it is night and then he crawls in the house, etc.

Define times in the day when you give your kid undivided attention, write it down on your schedule like a meeting and stick to it, if the phone rings, get it later. It's a warm, reassuring feeling for a child to know that no matter what happens during the day, Mom or Dad is just going to sit down with them for a half hour before going to bed and watch them play, talk about something, or just be with them and get into their world.

This works nicely if you don't see your kids a lot because you leave for work before they get up or get home after they go to bed: get in the habit of leaving something for them everyday, on their nightstand or where they eat breakfast, etc. It can be a note or an article about something you were talking about or something they are interested in, or some puzzle, math equation, whatever they are into. It reminds them that even though you may not see them often, you think enough about them everyday to get them something special, and it keeps a communication channel open.

Write notes to your kids, leave them notes for when you get home, send them e-mails, send them letters, etc. Even if they can't read yet, someone else can read it to them, etc. There is something cool about getting notes, especially for kids, and some things you can express better in written form.

Minimalistic, captures the beauty of movement, done with passion for creativity. Takes awhile to load, load first.

Online and free, you go there and about 5 minutes you are learn how to create animations, story lines, etc. Kids can do it as soon as they can handle a mouse. Make stories together, etc. The interface is impressively simple.

Fly through the air and through a jet engine with your kids. Cool 3D rendering.

Especially for kids who can't read yet, get some sticky notes, and draw something on one then hand it to your kid and he has to figure out what it is and go get it. Has a treasure hunt thrill and they love to WATCH as you draw it guessing what it will be. Semi-decent drawing skills required.

Make a treasure (e.g. a yogurt and a spoon, or candy, or whatever), hide it behind the atlas, then write a note that says "look behind the atlas" and put THIS note under the TV, then write another note that says "look under the TV" and put THIS NOTE behind the clock, etc. It is really easy and fast to make and kids love the excitement and finding a treasure at the end. Great also if kids are just starting to read.

It's an old classic but kids love it. I found that even if you live in a small apartment and don't have many places to hide, just the fact that you are playing a game is enough for kids to enjoy it for a long time.